In The City of Love
by Moony44
Summary: When Rory gets transferred to Paris for her dream journalism job, she needs an apartment, and fast. What happens when the renter of the only open convenient apartment is also America's favorite author? Literati, but Logan will make an appearance in this..
1. Welcome To The City

**Rory is working as a journalist, and she has to move to Paris. What happens when the only apartment for rent just happens to be the same apartment that America's favorite author is renting? Sorry if it sounds confusing: Rory needs to rent an apartment and a famous author is renting it out because they barely stay there, so they want it to be put to good use.**

**NOTE: Jess and Rory do NOT have a history together. They have never met. **

* * *

Rory stepped out of the plane, exhausted from traveling for a day. She slung her black leather messenger bag over her shoulder and trudged to the baggage claim, hoping that retrieving her luggage wouldn't take more than an hour, which it usually does. It was late at night, yet the airport was buzzing with people of all different countries. She passed by people speaking Spanish, French, German, and Armenian just getting to the baggage claim. Finally, she spotted her bright red luggage slowly gliding along. She sighed happily and heaved it onto the dull carpeted floor and outside.

She almost had to shield her eyes from the amount of light flowing from outside. It was like a beacon outside the airport doors. She finally opened her eyes and froze in her tracks, making a man who was walking behind her run into her. He shot her a nasty look and muttered something foreign in French.

"Oh my, god," Rory uttered in awe. Paris was better than she had ever imagined. Lights were streaming from every corner, the Eiffel Tower was closer than than the nearest McDonald's, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Realizing that she had to move, Rory sidestepped to a bench and collected her thoughts. Every time she blinked she could still make out the vague outline of the Eiffel Tower, ablaze in her mind.

She quickly stepped back into the lambency and whistled, which caught the attention of a nearby taxi driver. He pulled over and motioned for her to get inside. She agreed.

"Erm...4 Tournesol Street, s'il vous plaît," she muttered, using the little French she knew.

"Oui," He said gruffly and took off down the street. Rory nervously twiddled her thumbs in her seat, wondering how long this was going to take.

Rory suddenly was wondering how late it really was and decided to practice her French by asking the cab driver.

"Uh, il et heures?" she asked, hoping her pronunciation wasn't retched.

The cab driver laughed at something, seemingly an inside joke and answered. "You from America, no?" His tone was lighthearted, and he was still laughing at that inside joke.

"Um, oui," she said feebly.

"Il et Twenty heures en thirty-seven," he answered, doing his best with English.

"Merci."

The cab driver looked back over his shoulder. "America they say thank you, no?" Rory nodded her head. "Ok, so in this drive, we American. Thank you, Mademoiselle."

Rory smiled. "Thank you, Monsieur." Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a nice looking hotel.

"Vignt en une euros, s'il vous plaît. Or twenty-one euros, please," the cab driver said, holding out a hand. Rory paid him the twenty-one euros she owed him and stepped clumsily out of the cab. The taxi driver pulled out her luggage from the back, helping her out.

"Merci-erm, thank you," she said, blushing when he bowed. He uttered "Your welcome" in English, but Rory could barely hear it. She idly walked to her hotel, checked in, and unlocked the door to her suite.

What she saw was not as breathtaking as the actual Paris, but was pretty darn cool. The company she worked for had paid for the hotel, but only for a couple nights. She would have to find an apartment tomorrow.

The room was beautiful, in every aspect of the word. A fluffy down comforter dawned the queen sized bed, along with squashy pillows. The armchairs were huge, comfortably sitting her and two other people, with a little room to spare. Last, but not least, a fire was crackling merrily in the stone fireplace.

She dropped her luggage, slammed to door shut, sprinted to her bed and plunged into the soft depths of the blankets. Before she got too sleepy, she forced herself up and unlocked the balcony, taking in all of the city of love. She could see it all, right from her hotel room on the highest floor. The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and just Paris at its greatest. She stepped outside into the cool night air, wrapping her sweater closer to her shivering frame. The wind was picking up, it was going to be a stormy night. The clouds were in, all shades of grey covered the once sparkling stars. A wet drop fell on her nose, a clear warning sign that it had started to rain. Rory quickly ducked under the covering as the rain fell steadier. It was breathtaking. Rory loved the rain, and it was twice as fantastic in Paris.

She opened her balcony door again, shivering as she stepped into the warmth of her hotel room. She locked the balcony door and tried to put the fire at as best as she could, and managed to make it glow a little.

She changed into her soft flannel pajamas and got in the toasty bed, snuggling under the covers. The lavender scent of the room was extremely calming and she only had one last thought before she drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

_I've got to find an apartment, and fast. Tomorrow._

* * *

**Haha, yay! I have so many plans for this story! Read and review. **

**By the way, wasn't sure how far apart the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower are away from each other, but for the sake of my story, she can see both. And also, the Eiffel Tower is huge, so that all is probably somewhat accurate. **

**How's my French? I only know bits of the language, I did my best. Sorry if it isn't the best. :**


	2. The Perfect Stranger

Rory's eyes fluttered open to the bright daylight of Paris, France. She grinned from under the duvet covers of her king sized hotel bed. This morning was different from other mornings. She didn't feel tired when she woke up. This day was going to be a good one, she could tell. She flipped the covers over, briskly walking out of bed and to her suitcase in a uplifting manner. Today was a great day.

"Hmm...what do I wear, what do I wear..," she muttered to herself as her belongings we flung haphazardly onto the oak floor. "Aha." She smiled in triumph, at finding one of her favorite outfits. After all, she needed a great outfit to go with a great day.

She slipped on a cream colored wavy skirt that reached her knees. It was a perfect match to her pink, floral shirt. She twirled around in her skirt, happily. She was in _Paris_.

A little squeal of excitement emitted from her lips and she continued getting ready. After she was all made up, she walked to her balcony, opening the French doors. Immediately a breeze flowed into her room, making the sheer white drapes that hung above the doors blow gently. She closed her eyes, smelling the sweet French air and opened them again. All her senses were tingling, itching to run in the streets of Paris. She heard a couple boys outside her hotel riding their bicycles and laughing. She glanced down and saw a bakery already bustling with customers, ready to eat a fresh, warm loaf of bread.

It took all she could to tear her crystal eyes away from the streets below and back into her cold hotel room. After all, the air outside was so warm, begging her to go and walk in it. She quickly made her bed and, after locking the all the doors, rode the lift downstairs and skipped outside.

* * *

Rory slipped into a busy restaurant, unnoticed by the waiters and waitresses, and made her way to an empty table.

A waiter finally saw her and walked over to her table. "Bonjour."

"Um..." Rory blushed nervously. "Salut. Une cafe, s'il vous plait." French was definitely not her forte.

The waiter nodded his head and went to go fetch her coffee. As soon as it was set in front of her, the strong smell of coffee beans wafted into her nose, a familiar scent. She speedily drank up her coffee, and, after ordering a scone and devouring it, payed her bill and was on her way.

She had seen an ad in the newspaper that morning (deciphering as much French as possible) about an apartment for rent. It said that the owner of the beautiful flat only stayed there for part of the year, and that since he traveled so much, he was renting out the space for six months. Rory could live with six months, that was fair enough. Besides, from what the article said, it was at a beautiful location. She had contacted the person in the ad, and he said he would meet her today.

Rory had inadvertently memorized the address; 4 Dentelle Ruelle. She tiredly walked the six streets to the flat, stopping every now and then to ask a local street names that she couldn't find. Finally, she arrived at the apartment building, staring in awe. It was close to everything, one of those perfect locations. It was near all the beautiful monuments, a park, restaurants, a produce and fruit market, and everything else you could possibly want. She wasted no time stepping inside the building. The cool air rushed towards her and she welcomed it gratefully. As she walked idly to the lady behind the desk, she noticed a person sitting in a lobby chair that looked vaguely familiar. She couldn't place where he was from. Aside from that, she still took in how he looked. His dark brown, almost black hair fell into his hazel eyes slightly. He was dressed like someone who didn't mean to be stylish, but was. A black blazer was casually thrown on, under a shirt that looked as if it had been made by an artist. The man noticed she was looking at him, and he grinned.

Rory blushed and tore her eyes, very embarrassed. A small smile played on her lips and she nonchalantly turned her eyes to the man again. He was staring at her, amusedly and she again turned away from him, hopefully for the last time. She decided to do what she came here for.

"Bonjour," she greeted the women at the front desk. As they proceeded to have a strained conversation, the man whom Rory was staring at walked up to the front desk next to her.

"You sound like you're having a difficult time here. Would you like me to help you?" The man said, in perfect english. He smiled the lop-sided grin again, and Rory nodded, completely captured by this perfect stranger.

"So, what is it you would like me to say to this _belle femme_?" He said, winking at the young lady at the counter. Rory frowned and sighed. Fine.

"Um...Well, I'm here to find the person who rents out one of these rooms," Rory said, looking around as if the person would make himself present.

"Wait, Rory? I'm Jess, the renter of the apartment you called me about."

"Oh! I should have recognized your voice. I'm Rory Gilmore, as you know," Rory said, as she held out her hand for Jess to shake. Instead of shaking it, he took it and led her to the elevator. Rory inwardly giggled at this gesture and followed him easily.

They finally made it up the thirty or so floors and unlocked the door to room 774.

"Well, this is it." Jess backed up into the room, holding his arms out to motion at all the wide space. It really was a beautiful place to live. It resembled her hotel room a bit, what with the oak floors and terrace. She didn't have to even take two looks at the room to know it was perfect. Something inside of her was telling her to take this flat now, or she'd regret it.

"I love it," Rory truthfully said, awed by how simply elegant something can look. " It's amazing how something can be so stunningly beautiful, you know?" Her eyes swept around the room, landing on Jess.

Jess looked straight into Rory's eyes, a solemn expression on his handsome face. "I know exactly what you mean," he said, the room far from his mind. Rory blushed again and ripped her eyes away from his, breaking their intense moment. She awkwardly made her way towards Jess.

"This is the right one, I can tell. I'll take it," Rory whispered, looking down.

"Okay, Rory Gilmore. Let me get the papers and we can sign off on it"

"Okay, Jess...I never caught your last name," Rory replied, now looking back into his entrancing eyes.

"Jess. Jess Mariano," he answered, amused at what her reaction would be.

* * *

_AN: Sorry I didn't update for forever! I have been super busy and I wrote this chapter like three times and still didn't like it! I don't particularly like it now, but it's better than before. Again, I'm sorry. This will also probably the last time I will be updating until December because I am doing a crazy writing contest! (It's called NaNoWriMo. Look it up on Google!) _

_PS: I'd love some help on French, if anyone would be willing to help me out with some words.   
_


	3. The Unexpected Stranger

"**Okay, Jess...I never caught your last name," Rory replied, now looking back into his entrancing eyes.**

"**Jess. Jess Mariano," he answered, amused at what her reaction would be.**

* * *

It was a second until Rory grasped reality. Her mouth was hanging wide open and she couldn't help but stare at the man in front of her. She quickly caught her senses and gave a sarcastic laugh. 

"Ha. Funny. For a second I thought you said-"

"Jess Mariano?" He asked, a smirk plastered to his handsome face.

"Uh ... yeah. That." Rory tripped over her words, still gaping.

"I did." If it were possible, his smirk grew wider. Seeing her confusion again, he decided to start over.

"Here, let's start over, okay, Rory?" He held out a hand and she mindlessly took hold of it, still gaping. "I'm Jess Mariano. I like to write novels and switch off living in Paris and Connecticut." A grin overtook his face and Rory smiled back, blushing furiously.

"Hello, Jess. I'm Rory and I usually don't like to catch flies in my mouth by gaping. I usually don't stare so much, I apologize. You see, you said that you were Jess Mariano. I was just surprised because he is an amazing author- well you are an amazing author because you are him and because-" Jess put a finger to her lips to silence her rambling.

"I don't usually talk that much, either," she whispered, through his finger. She was totally entranced. Not only was he her favorite author, but he was the best-looking person she had ever seen.

"It's okay, Rory." He smirked again and handed her the papers. Her cheeks flushed scarlet and she grabbed the papers, fumbling in her purse for a pen.

"Here," he said, flourishing a ball-point pen in his fingers. She hastily grabbed it and took her time signing the papers. After she was done, she handed them to Jess.

"Thank you," she muttered, looking down. He put a finger on her chin to look pull her to eye level.

"No," he murmured, another smile playing on his lips. "Thank you."

And somehow, through all the fuzz and fog in Rory's brain she knew that that 'Thank you' had duel meanings.

* * *

Jess nodded and stepped out of Rory's new apartment with an air of elegance that looked effortless. It probably was. Rory had never swooned that much of one guy before. And a guy that she had met merely hours ago. She looked out the balcony window, watching him leave. 

As soon as she knew he was far enough away, she rushed to the nearest bookstore she could find. She spotted all of his books in French and bought them in a heartbeat.

After handing the woman at the counter some Euros, she leafed through the pages and squealed.

_What are you doing, Rory? Getting excited over nothing. You are acting like a love-struck teenage girl! You are here to get work done and Jess is merely a small distraction._ She scolded herself quietly while walking out of the store.

Her head was down and she was intently reading the back of Jess' book when she walked into something hard. All the books and her purse flew out of her hands and onto the cobblestone.

"Oh, um..." she gave the man she walked into an apologetic look and silently cursed herself for not knowing how to say sorry in French. "Um, I'm s-sorry." She stuttered and then scolded herself, knowing that he wouldn't understand her. He probably thought she was a some ignorant American now.

"It's okay." The man kneeled on the sidewalk to help her pick up her things. She snapped her head up to actually look at the man who she had run into. His golden blond hair was windswept and it fell into his face, perfectly. A pair of light chocolate eyes bore into her and she blushed, fumbling with her things. She slipped the handbag back on and took her newly purchased books from the man.

"Thank you," she said, turning to walk away.

"Wait!" The man called, holding something in his hands. "I believe this belongs to you. It must have fell out of your purse. Forgive me for looking at it, but are you Rory Gilmore?" She gazed at him questionably before taking the small slip of paper he was holding out.

"Oh..." she muttered. "My business card. Uh, yeah, I am. Why?"

He smirked, shaking her hand. "Logan Huntzberger, your boss."

* * *

******AN: I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. Bad Moony, bad. I will update very soon after this, really I will. I know this chapter is a bit short, and I apologize for that.**

****** And on another note, this chapter will mark my 50k words! I have now archived 50k words on my entire account! (I know that many people write more words for one story, but I'm pretty happy right now.)  
**


	4. Stopping By

Thanks to the reviewers:

Witherwings4: Thank you! I'm trying to update more often.  
janny: Thanks! I can't wait to develop the love triangle.  
Literati44: Thank you! I'm sorry I didn't update sooner!  
padfoot0520: Thanks!  
Kassandra27: Thank you very much, here's the next chapter!  
Arica, Princess of Rivendell: Thank you, here's the next chapter!  
Curley-Q: Thank you, I'm so glad you liked it!  
RoRyJeSsAdDiCt: Thank you so much for you French offer. I will definitely take you up on that. This chapter didn't have any French, but I will ask you for future chapters! And thanks for your patience. I hope you like this chapter.  
Keiko Noriko: Thanks. And yes, this will be Literati. Although I might through in a hint of Rogan, but you'll see what happens!  
cathyrock: Thanks for the review! And I certainly and going to explore that love triangle.  
Jeremy Shane: Thanks!  
CherryWolf713: Thanks for your patience. Here's the next chapter!  
MielAngelEyes: I also have to thank you for your patience. I hope you like this chapter!

Previously:

"_Oh..." she muttered. "My business card. Uh, yeah, I am. Why?"_

_He smirked, shaking her hand. "Logan Huntzberger, your boss."_

--

"I'm sorry, my what?"

"Your boss," Logan clarified, smirking.

"Oh my God, hi. Sorry, I- uh, well, I just wasn't expecting to see you like this-"

Logan let out a laugh and Rory's cheeks flushed scarlet.

"Well, I mean, not like this, because there isn't anything wrong with this. I just meant that, you know, I was expecting to meet you at my first day of work on Monday. Or I was expecting to meet you at another time, because I know that you are terribly busy-"

"Rory."

"Sorry," she blushed once more and twisted her hands together. "I don't normally talk this much. You know, when I just get on a rant I stay on it, you know?" She gave a weak laugh and then looked down to the concrete.

"It's nice to meet you, Rory Gilmore. I can tell that we are going to have fun working together."

He gave her one last, lingering look before winking and walking past her.

--

When Rory finally made it back to her new apartment, she started unpacking immediately. It was one of her bits; she just _loved_ unpacking. She usually liked to attribute it to her love of travel, but she knew that wasn't the case. Unpacking meant one thing: settling. Which meant she was going to stay for longer than a week.

A knock on the door startled her. She set down the pair of socks she was folding, strode over to the front door and answered it.

A man was standing there, casually and effortlessly looking handsome. His ebony hair fell across his forehead, in a perfect, tousled look. A pair of chocolate eyes flicked over the manilla folder in his hands to Rory.

"Jess- Mr. Mariano," she breathed, letting out the breath she didn't even know she was holding. He grinned and motioned to her apartment.

"May I come in?" He asked, holding up the papers. "I have some things that I forgot to give you sign."

"Oh, of course." She widened the door to allow him to slide in.

"So," he started, glancing around at his old apartment. "How are you liking it here?" He asked with an air of nostalgia, as if wishing he was still living there.

"I'm just great. This place is just. . . fantastic. I can't imagine a better place in Paris. You really did a nice job with this," she said, gesturing to the apartment as a whole.

His cheeks flushed at the compliment. "It was really easy, actually. The French have a certain style, I guess you could say. It's fairly easy to meld to their trends."

"I understand," she said, unconsciously tugging at the cuffs of her sleeves.

"Call me Jess," he blurted out, staring her directly in the eyes.

"Huh?" she asked, whipping her head so that she was looking at Jess instead of her jacket sleeves.

"I would just like it better if you called me Jess instead of Mr. Mariano," he said, as something in his eyes changed. There was a distant emotion in his entrancing eyes that Rory couldn't quite place.

"Oh," she stated. "Okay, Jess."

He smiled slightly, but it never reached his eyes. "I have a confession to make," he muttered, setting the manilla envelope on the kitchen table.

"Sure," she encouraged. "Go ahead."

He opened to folder to reveal what looked like a piece of blank paper. Rory glanced at it and then picked it up to look at the next page. The second page was blank, too.

"Where's the papers I had to sign?" she asked, quizzically.

"Well," Jess started, looking down. He was clearly embarrassed and took Rory's habit of playing with his sleeves. "That's sort of the confession I had to make."

Rory nodded, egging him on. "You never really had to sign anything," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck in a nervous fashion.

"No?" she asked, slightly confused.

"No," he admitted, "I just came by to see you."

If hearts could melt, hers would have been a puddle on the floor by now. He had come to see her?

"Really?" Her voice was tinted with incredulity and she had to make an effort not to stare at him in shock.

"Well, that and ask you if you would mind terribly if I could take you out to dinner sometime. Tonight, actually."

Rory's cheeks suddenly reddened and she nodded. "I would love that." She forgot about how she had only known him for a day and let all of her inhibitions out of the window.

"I also came for one more thing."

"Oh?"

Jess strode up to her and crushed his lips against hers. Rory took a sharp intake of breath. Her mind was foggy and she felt dizzy. It took all of second before she responded. He kissed down her jaw and onto her neck before pulling away.

"I'll see you tonight," he murmured before pulling away and walking out of the door, leaving a breathless Rory standing there.

--

_Sorry for the long wait! But here it is. And I think that it's quite a groundbreaking chapter._


	5. Picking Her Up

I am so sorry to say that this is just a filler chapter. It is short, but will hopefully sustain you readers until I can think of something else. I am also on the lookout for someone who wants to help me. I would credit you in my author notes at the beginning of chapters and everything, I just need someone to help me with ideas. I would love PMs from anyone that wants to help. I need ideas and I know you readers probably have great ones.

x3lovelee- Haha, thanks.  
Jeremy Shane- Thank you. :  
Curley-Q- Thanks!  
lillitgirlx2- Sorry, I did wait long. / But here's a filler until later!  
Lynn- Thank you! I'm sorry, you are going to have to wait and see if I am putting some Rogan into this.  
krymsunkiss52- Thank you.  
YankeesFan12- Aw, thanks. I'm sorry to keep you waiting for the next chapter.  
I-luv-jess-mariano-Thanks.  
GrlWithoutAName- Thanks. He is cute, isn't he? He's always been my favorite character; obviously the best boyfriend for Rory. Too bad that's not what happened in the show.  
Nobody- I agree, ick Logan. But the story just has to play out that way.  
ohxrosie- Amen to that. Jess is pretty darn sexy. Thanks.  
Ana- Thanks. Sorry, Ana, I can't get rid of Logan yet.  
Witherwings4-Thanks.  
Literati44-Thanks for your review! I apologize for not updating sooner.  
Keiko Noriko-Thank you. :)  
ArigatoKarateBaby-Thank you. :D  
pam halliwell-So sorry to keep you waiting so long! Thanks for the review!  
cokeLOVER12345- Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words. :

--

She could feel her heart pounding inside of her chest. She was sure it would just literally jump out of her chest at any second. Her hand fluttered to her chest to stop the palpitations, but to no avail. Jess was just going to have to put up with a nervous Rory. She couldn't help it; _he_ wasn't going out with a world famous author. She was.

She checked the clock on the oven. Eleven minutes to go and he would be here. It had taken her two hours to get ready, which was longer than usual for her. And she had accidentally left herself three hours and fifteen minutes to get ready.

She tried to think of something to do to pass the time and remembered Jess's books that she had bought earlier that day. She was in the middle of the second page when the doorbell rang.

"He's early," she squeaked to herself and hurried to get the door.

"Hey," he said, handing her bouquet of yellow daisies. "Sorry I'm early."

"I-It's okay," she replied, a smile spreading on her face. "Thank you for the flowers. They're lovely."

His answering grin was enough and she hastened to put the flowers in water.

"Nice apartment you've got here," he muttered, chuckling.

Rory laughed. "You would know," she said, wiping her hands on a washcloth.

He walked around the living room before looking out the windows of the balcony. "God, this view..." He trailed off, turning his attention to Rory.

"Yeah," she agreed, breathlessly. "If I could, I would do everything on that balcony. Eat, write, you name it."

He nodded and, noticing her sweater resting on the couch, picked it up. She strode over to him, blushing when he held it out for her to slide her arms through.

"Thanks," she breathed to the person standing behind her. It was barely audible, but he seemed to have heard it for he wrapped his arms around her and brought his lips to her ear.

"Your welcome," he whispered, as his lips grazed her ear. She shivered involuntarily under his touch and he smirked.

"Cold?" He asked. She turned around in his arms so that they were facing each other.

"Not exactly," she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck to bring him down for a kiss. He pulled her closer, so that he could feel her excited breathing.

"I hate to break this up," he said softly, "But the reservation's at seven, and we have just enough time to get there."

"Mmm," she hummed, happily. "I'm glad you came early."

"Me, too."

--

"After you," Jess said softly, opening the door for Rory. She stepped out onto the damp pavement, wet from the day's rain.

"Wow," she muttered, quietly observing the restaurant. "Jess, this is too much."

They were standing in front of a fancy cafe in the heart of the city.

"If you can squint your eyes and tilt your head to the side a little bit, you can kind of see the Eiffel Tower!" Rory exclaimed.

Jess snorted. "Yeah, and if I twist around a little like this, close my left eye, and stand on one foot, the Notre Dame's practically next door!" He demonstrated, holding his arms out to balance on one foot.

"You're mocking me."

"Maybe," he smirked, pulling her against his side.

"Fine," she simpered, sliding her hand to meet his. "Mock me all you want. But just remember that it will come back to you one day."

"Karma?"

"Mhmm."

He laughed lightly and led her into the cafe.

--

AN: See what I mean, guys? I hate doing short chapters, but I've got nothing. I have a vague idea of what's to come in the next chapter, but I need a little help. I also hate making author's notes longer than the chapter, but what can I do?


End file.
